The results of the MRI/X-ray on Jeff Karstens are back with good news for him. Nothing appears to be structurally wrong, and he may be back on a mound in a couple days. He is still stiff but it's not considered a major problem. He might even be on the roster for Opening Day.
The Yankees met before the game to talk about the roster. No final decision has been made on the backup first baseman (Josh Phelps or Andy Phillips) or backup catcher (Wil Nieves or Todd Pratt). It seems to be leaning towards Phelps and Nieves, though.
The Yankees beat the Phillies 5-1. Mariano Rivera has yet to allow a run this spring, but he did allow a broken bat single (gasp!!) in an inning this afternoon. He's now allowed a measly four baserunners in nine innings.
Alex Rodriguez hit a 3-run homer in the first inning. Doug Mientkiewicz had a two-run double.
Comments (77)
Phelps and Nieves, that's the way I would go. But I think Torre would love to go with the other combination based on his love of veterans (Pratt) and wanting to show loyalty to Phillips.
Good news about Karstens !My vote is for Nieves/Phelps
Phelps appears to be a good addition to the club. Nieves is a fill in and can't be counted for the long haul in case of an injury to Jorge.
I watched Dice-K pitch against the Reds today. The guy has definite talent and will be a force until the hitters get to know him. The Reds had their A team against him and not much of a contest. He can throw it well with good breaking pitches. He is a professional pitcher no doubt about it. I think the real test will come after the book is out on him.
KAT-
Those of us "die hard" Yankee fans, continue to thank you for "up-to-the- minute", inside Yankee info. Don't be surprised if Cashman asks "you", for information.
THANKS AGAIN
That single that Mo gave up was a flare over short! If Jeter was out there it would've been caught!
My guess is Phelps and Pratt. Torre values catchers with experience and the fact that Pratt has been a career backup means a lot,too.
Thanks Kat for these updates!
Lol Lataham ... I mean really...it's spring training and you were the idiot who thought that Jeter was a better shortstop than Arod....f*ing hilarious! Why don't you learn a little something about baseball before you comment!
Lol Lataham ... I mean really...it's spring training and you were the idiot who thought that Jeter was a better shortstop than Arod.... hilarious! Why don't you learn a little something about baseball before you comment!
Hey ruse...is the pizza in Cali better than NY???? Another moron!
Plus ruse thinks Posada is a great defensive catcher....enuff said!
Hitman :Still waiting for you to say something half way intelligent ! Acting like an a**hole doesn't cut it .I'm sorry your father beat you as a child !
Ruse: You are an idiot...wanna meet so I can smack the sh*t out of you? My Father never beat me.....you son of a n*gger f*cking wh*re....bring it old man! YOU KNOW NOTHING YOU SENILE OLD POS!
Ruse.......wylderthanu2000 @yahoo.com
Imake enough money to come out to Cali and smack your old @ss!
Larry M: It took Dice-K 104 pitches to get through 5 innings against the Reds...
Hitman : You still blowing smoke up my a**? Go away
Now for the itelligent........posada is a lazy assed catcher. I would rather have Girardi or more so Munson! F*ck you you old loser!
ruse: put your money where your mouth is...come on chicken little!
I'm game for some @ss spanking!!
Hitman: I think you spelled intelligent wrong .
Oh ruse is a f*cking coward....who'd a thunk?
Pizza anyone ?
Yep , but I still would waste your no nothing baseball ass! Mail me! I'll wear your skin!
Hitman : Brevity is the soul of wit ! In your case both are lacking !
Hitman stop it youre acting like a jacka$$ redsox fan.
PS. Itelligent was indeed spelled incorrectly.
phucktheredsock???? you are acting like a redsox fan with that handle you idiot! Yankee fans don't have to succumb to that level...fool! Ruse: you got he email....I got some pain for you old man!
the not he...my bad...ooops! ruse is still a f*cking idiot and phucktheredsox is acting like a red sox fan....two wimps!
Brevity....lol! More like cowardly on your part ruse!
Hitman : I'm sorry you're in so much pain ,and I'm sorry you don't know it !...I hope you find solace in something besides your anger ,which is misguided to say the least.
Lol , p***y!
I guess I am being blocked for saying the truth?
It was fun !
Ruse: bring it....come on you know nothing depends wearing pos!
ruse loosely defined..................
"A ruse is an action or plan which is intended to deceive someone"
hitman,
whats your problem with ruse???
Kat, I think you can arrange to block posts from senders who monopolize the blog with off-topic, time-wasting rants. Maybe some sort of time-out system would work?
cant believe I just wasted 10 sec scrolling down Hitman's posts. complete and utter garbage. ban the ip. I'd like to bring up the Yankee Relevant fact that Igawa did half decent again today. Im starting to regain a little faith in him. Great news about Karstens as well
ruse is a blow hard! It's that simple. phucktheredsox has a handle that would offend any TRUE yankee fan. As it falls into the murk of the imbecile red sux fan's who think it's cool to run around with "yankees Suck" and "F#ck The yankees" shirts and so on. That isn't class...
DG: You gonna bark lil' doggie or you gonna bite?
Ruse,Ca yes, he did have control problems with all his pitches but in no way had any difficulty with the Reds. It was a true ST game. The pitchers are way ahead of the hitters. The guy is good. I'd take him on the Yanks but 100+ million is the real question. He can win 15.
My name is PHUCKER!!!
And though my "handle" may be considered childish in nature I can assure you I've never once posted the infantile nonsense you've used to kill this entirely relevant thread.
Nice work A$$hole!!!
DG: Yes, and it was good to see how KI responded on the occasions when he got in trouble, makes me hope he does have the stomach for the job ...
hey phucker, do you have two teams in the bbb diciple league?
has anyone noticed how well bruney has pitched in st so far? he has been lights out! i hope he can pick up where he left off last season.
Mikefl: His biggest problem has always been command of his fastball.Walks.If he can find the strikezone w/ that 98 mph heater the Yanks have got themselves a great set up guy to take some of the workload away from Farnsworth and Proctor who by the way has also had an excellent ST.
What about Britton? Did he get optioned to the minor league camp (yet)?
I didn't think he was pitching all that well and heard he was on his way down.
I'm glad to hear Bruney is pitching well.
Very happy Karstens is okay so far.
Kat: You are really catching on with this blog, Thank you so much for the updates.
Larry M : I caught Dice-K his last time out against the Pirates ? He was throwing 3 pitches w/ ease for strikes ,his fastball was 93-94 on the gun and he threw a pitch that looked like a screwball/change that broke away from lefthanded hitters...our guy Igawa has been looking good too,no doubt they'll face one another this season .Can't wait !
ruse:
if st is any indicator then we just might have a real steal in bruney.i guess you can tell by now that i am really intrigued by the way he strikes out alot of batters!
Mike,
It's always nice knowing you have someone coming out of the pen who can blow some hitters away.
Of course, he could also walk the bases loaded which is a problem that I hope he has fixed.
Jim A.: I think Torre goes w/ Rivera,Farnsworth,Proctor,Visciano,Bruney,Britton,Myers.Visciano gets to pitch to lefties,who batted .163 against him last yr.The Yanks never had 5 relief pitchers who can throw 95 mph or better w/ease...Henn may get sent to the minors and Villone released.
I guess it comes down to Britton or either Henn/Villone
bruney reminds me alot of gossage.comes right at you with no surprises.98 miles a hour.hit if you can.i think he will do well and set up the possibilty of farnsworth being traded.
britton has options left and my guess is he will go to scranton.
Mike,
I agree. I don't think Britton has made the club. Villone was given more of a chance than anyone but I think he has worn out his welcome.
So the 7th guy would be Henn ?
I don't know Ruse. That's the tough call. Henn really hurt himself by pitching poorly yesterday so I can't say for sure. Nothing would surprise me, including Villone making the team.
Maybe Villone makes the team but has a short leash, w/ Henn waiting in the wings?
I think Henn wasn't prepared to enter yesterdays game in the 3rd inning,maybe he should have been...This last week will be open competition for the 7th spot unless the Yanks make a last minute trade.Myers?
how can henns 1 bad outing compare to villones spring? every outing is bad for villone!
Mike,
If Henn were a veteran, I'm sure that's how it would be said. With a young guy it seems to matter more, especially w/ Torre. Torre keeps saying he loves the velocity that Villone brought to camp with him but he says he thinks Villone messed up his mechanics trying to throw too hard.
we have righthanders who have great success with leftys,so why not take henn north and lets see what we got? villone is useless!i feel the same about villone like rick keyes feels about pavano!
I agree. Villone has been with something like 9 teams for a reason, he's just not very good.
lets hope torre is reading this!! lol
Hitman you have some serious anger issues!
Son, I've forgotten more baseball than you'll ever know.
My post about today's exhibition game was in jest, but I wouldn't expect a cretin like you to figure it out! Crawl back to your PS2 and pretend you're a bad, bad man, junior!
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=15140
from Jerry Crasnick of Espn
Steiny (NYC): What are your early World Series predictions?
Jerry Crasnick: Steiny,
My early World Series prediction is Boston over Atlanta. (And no, this isn't East Coast, ESPN bias). I just like the Red Sox rotation and the move of Papelbon back to closer. In the NL, I just don't think the Mets have the starting pitching, barring an in-season trade or two. It was either Atlanta or the Dodgers, and I decided to go with the Braves.
David Staba of Niagara Falls Reporter picks the Yankees 3rd to win the Al east. Another clueless Yankees hater
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/sports3.27.07.html
AL EAST
The Yankees still have a tremendous lineup, as well as a fragile rotation, a closer in danger of revealing his mortality in Mariano Rivera and an acidic clubhouse chemistry more likely to yield punches exchanged by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez than a World Championship. By July, Joe Torre will wish George Steinbrenner had fired him last fa
Predicted finish:
Toronto
Boston
N.Y. Yankees
Tampa Bay
Baltimore
Predictions on ESPN and elsewhere are ultimatley for naught. Anybody can make predictions and the paid authors are no more qualified to make them than ur average blue collar worker. Baseball like all other sports isnt a hard science that can be mastered and always repeats. Its simply guesswork and gut feeling and as such, people shouldnt really work themselves up over what other "credible" sports followers are predicting. IF we knew the outcome...what would be th point of watching. Just a thought
The idiots on ESPN have no more ability to predict the outcome of the season than you or I. To make a statement like Rivera is in danger of exposing his mortality....I mean please...what's he done this spring? The guy is super-human...and from a Sox fan pespective, the guy considered most dangerous. (even though the Sox have had some limited success against him). I wouldnt worry about Rivera Yank fans.....let us Sox fans do that.
As far as Crasnick goes...I'd likely agree....I DO think the Sox starting rotation and the deployment of Papelbon to the closer role will put them over the top. Beckett has been just outstanding this spring...has great command of his curveball, Schilling has mastered a new pitch...a change up to go with his other pitches...and something he can use when his splitter sucks. I've watched Dice-K pitch 4 times this spring....his stuff is just plain sick....think Petey when Petey was at his best.
I think it is going to be a classic season....with the Sox and the Yanks banging the hell out of the rest of the league...and those 18 games they play between each other will decide the season.
NFW that Toronto wins the east....they have improved...but they are still not at the Yanks or Sox level.
You're right, DG. Those are great points.
ESPN resorts to wishful thinking by default, since their allegiance smacks people over the head. Placing Toronto on top is apparently a token move, since preseason "predictions" are absolutely worthless.
Casual
Dice K is amazing I'm crazy jeolous. Against my Yankee loyalty I drafted him in nearly all my fantasy leagues just so I could feel some of the magic. Your top 3 of the rotation are the best in baseball IMO and to say the sox have improved is an understatement. I agree with you it's going to be a fun season with Sox and Yanks going head to head to decide who goes to the playoffs I just hope we both get there.
I know I'm gonna get yelled at for this and called a closet Sox fan but I assure you all I am not!! It's just this pitching situation is making me nervous.
Phuck
I could help you have Dice-K on ALL your fantasy teams!
Phuck....LMAO
With your moniker...I doubt anyone could seriously accuse you of being a Sox fan...closet or otherwise.
Last time I checked....one cant be "thrown off the fan wagon" for voicing an opinion...especially for recognizing the main opponents strengths...
Rick
Hah I know I got your email.
I agree with you we should wait a couple weeks see how the rest of the league reacts see how things pan out.
Honestly I think everybody is gun shy waiting for somebody to make the first move. Most leagues start off with a couple trades even early in the preseason but everybody saw how the draft went and are all spooked.
Phuck, we know you're not a Red Sox fan. That would be way too pathetic. After all, what normal Red Sox fan would spend all their time in a Yankees forum rather than a Red Sox forum? I mean, I'm assuming the Red Sox have at least one forum (well, maybe not if their fans have to come here). A Red Sox fan coming here and spending a tremendous amount of time writing about the Yankees would be too obvious a show of obsession -- and quite weird, to boot. It's clear you're not a Red Sox fan.
Pathetic is the correct term....just aimed in the wrong direction.
Thank you Lucy.
Lucy : I have to agree w/ you .This hands across the water stuff w/BoSox fans is nonsense.Let them go wail away on their own blog...having Tavarez start rather than relieve weakens the BoTox staff ...Papelbon can not carry the same workload he did in 06 which puts more stress on a suspect bullpen to begin with...
Lol Latham.....you obviously forgot more baseball than i learned as you forgot that Arod is a far superior SS than Jeter. Lol....not a kid here..multiple business owner who would run through most of you idiots like a freight train!
Phuck --- why don't you just admit it already instead of hiding?
Does this jacket make me look fat? No, your face does.
Nobody can call you a Sox fan for liking Dice-K. Manny, to me, is one of the best hitters of my time. That doesn't mean I'm a sox fan.
It your statement, and I quote, "Yanks going head to head to decide who goes to the playoffs I just hope we both get there."
WE? You're hoping WE as in the Yanks and SOX?
Ok, you can be known as the first EVER Yankee fan to wish the Sox make the playoffs.
Not that you're a Sox fan, not that there's anything wrong with it ....
Me as a Yankee fan -- I hope Schilling snaps a knee, Dice K arms just falls off and I hope Ortiz, instead of running to first base, stops for a HotDog. The Sox going winless for the year is still not good enough for me.
What's your name on the Sox board? PhucktheYankees?